The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to report to training camp on July 26th, the last team in the NFL to report to camp. With both rookies and veterans reporting to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA on that day, fans await the return of the black-and-gold.

In just over a week, the new faces of the 2023 NFL Draft class will get their first taste of professional football. Not football in shorts, but real-life NFL football. The veterans will return for another season, and those fringe players will be looking for a football home somewhere, if not in Pittsburgh.

These final days before the players report to camp truly is the calm before the proverbial storm. Soon, we will all be inundated with videos of players unpacking their vehicles and walking into the dorms, the team marching down the hill to the practice fields with throngs of fans watching in amazement, and, of course, the many cell phone videos of the Steelers workouts where players shine, and others see their flame dim.

It is a fun part of the year, and for anyone who has followed the Steelers for any duration of time knows the return to training camp has become a part of your summer. Some view it as the end of summer, but in all reality is has become a part of everyone’s summer ritual. In Pittsburgh, at least in the last five seasons, the Pirates’ playoff hopes are diminished at this time and the Steelers come back to capture the attention of the black-and-gold following.

Sure, it might be called the “storm”, but it is one of my favorite times of year. I often say the NFL Draft is the pinnacle of hope for NFL teams, but so it the team reporting to training camp. When else are fans able to sit and watch their team develop in front of their very eyes. For them to take in the coaching in the trenches, as well as to cheer the offense on as a big play is completed. To celebrate the defensive effort when they win the war of attrition during the ‘7 Shots’ drill.

It is a special time, and a time filled with hope for the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. Can they pick up where they left off in 2022, winning four straight to finish the season and seven of their last nine games? We’ll find out soon enough.